Ariana Grande granted fast-track subpoenas in alleged music theft case

Ariana Grande granted expedited subpoena power to identify hackers who allegedly stole and leaked unreleased music

Ariana Grande has been granted fast-track subpoena power as she attempts to identify individuals accused of hacking her accounts and stealing unreleased material.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mark H Epstein ruled on Wednesday that Grande’s legal team can move ahead without the usual waiting period that provides notice to defendants.

The decision was made after her lawyers argued that the alleged hackers could not be identified without obtaining information from online platforms.

“The 20-day waiting period will never run because plaintiff cannot, even with reasonable diligence, determine the defendant’s identity without this discovery, and therefore will never be able to serve defendants,” Epstein wrote in his order.

Grande’s request is connected to a recently filed invasion of privacy lawsuit concerning the alleged theft and distribution of her unreleased music, photographs and videos.

Her legal team told the court that the material was allegedly being sold on the dark web for “significant sums of money”.

In her application for expedited discovery, Grande argued that identifying those responsible quickly was necessary to prevent further distribution of the material.

She said the perpetrators were “hiding behind anonymous accounts across various platforms” and warned that without swift action, the “hacking, theft, dissemination, sales and publication of content will continue”.

The singer also argued that delaying the subpoenas could result in the loss of information needed to identify the alleged defendants.

Grande said that “the account, subscriber, and login data needed to identify defendants will be lost” if the process is delayed.

According to her legal filing, 45 unreleased songs she was working on were allegedly stolen and leaked in 2023 alone.